Protection of coins is one of the novel industrial application areas of ALD, and it is a great example of the flexibility and versatility of the technology. With invisible and transparent but still 100% conformal, uniform, and pinhole-free ALD films, the objects can be isolated from ambient atmosphere, moisture, airborne pollution, dirt, and sweat from handling. This prevents them from tarnishing, discoloration, oxidation, and can be used to enhance their natural lustre. Because the ALD layers can be deposited in relatively low temperatures and from precursors that are harmless to metal substrates, the technology for protection of pieces of metal, developed by Picosun for the past 10 years, can also be applied on sensitive items.

“We are extremely pleased to bring our ALD technology to the market of minting. Our batch ALD tools fulfill the strictest industrial quality requirements and ensure fast and cost-efficient production with optimized precursor consumption economy and film quality. ALD is also breaking into many other traditional industries, enabled by low cost-of-ownership provided by our proprietary high-speed manufacturing solutions,” states Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director of Picosun.

Picosun Oy is a Finland-based, globally operating manufacturer of state-of-the-art ALD systems, representing continuity across almost four decades of pioneering ALD reactor design and manufacturing. Today, PICOSUN™ ALD systems are in daily production use in numerous prominent industries around the globe.